- Thread starter
- #31
Ourgosling22
Songster
I do want to add since weather is mentioned regarding feed, I’m in central Texas zone 9 area. We get pretty mild winters and the extreme cold temps are very short such as anywhere from a few days to maybe a week at most in Jan and Feb. Honestly my birds appetites don’t seem to change and it never crossed my mind to change their feed during these months. They still lay eggs too. Usually I'm more concerned if they are getting enough to eat.My information is based on my experience. When temperatures dip below freezing all of my geese get hungrier and eat more. Early on when I had them, I had them on a 17% feed through the winter and they rapidly lost weight in the cold months and when they molted some of them got stress bars on their feathers on a 17% feed also, both issues corrected themselves when giving a 20% feed in winter and during molting. My geese are primarily 17 to 20lb Toulouse, and compared to the smaller buffs and romans they struggle on a lower percentage feed. My roman cross and buffs put on a lot of weight on in warmer months on a 20% feed as compared to my larger birds, they don’t have this issue if I limit their portions or have them on a lower percentage feed.
I never said Metzer’s guide was incorrect, only that their birds are in a much different environment than mine, Metzer’s primary goal is to sell poultry and their experience with keeping birds is different than others just like my experiences are different than theirs or others. They don’t experience severe winters like I do, and my winters aren’t nearly as extreme as someone in Minnesota or elsewhere, temperature does play a role in feed intake.